Heel holder for safety ski bindings



Jan. 20, 1970 H. MARKER HEEL HOLDER FOR SAFETY SKI BINDINGS Filed Jane 12, 19s? 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 20, 1970 H, MARKER 3,490,780

HEEL HOLDER FOR SAFETY SKI BINDINGS Filed June 12, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,490,780 HEEL HOLDER FOR SAFETY SKI BINDINGS Hannes Marker, Hauptstrasse 5153, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany Filed June 12, 1967, Ser. No. 645,433 Claims priority, application Germany, July 1, 1966,

US. Cl. 280-1135 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The heel holder comprises a pivoted sole holder provided with a closing pe dal. Upon the insertion of the skiing boot, the heel holder automatically assumes its locking position, in which it urges the boot in the longitudinal direction of the ski against the toe iron. The heel holder can be released arbitrarily, e.g., by an application of a slight pressure with the ski stick, or automatically in response to the application of an excessive tensile force, which may be vertically upwardly directed and overcomes an elastic resistance. A pivoted carrying member for the sole holder and closing pedal consists of a spreading spring, which at that end which does not carry the sole holder is pivoted to a heel holder member which is connected to the ski. Said heel holder member has a carrying member for a locking pawl, which pawl-carrying member is adapted to be selectively locked in at least two positions. The locking pawl bears resiliently on a keeper, which is secured to that limb of the spring which does not carry the sole holder.

The present invention relates to a heel holder for safety ski bindings, which heel holder comprises a pivoted sole holder provided with a closing pedal and upon the insertion of the skiing boot into the binding automatically assumes its locking position in which the heel holder automatically urges the boot in the longitudinal direction of the ski against the toe iron whereas said heel holder can be released arbitrarily, e.g., by an application of a slight pressure with the ski stick, or automatically in response to the application of an excessive tensile force, which may be vertically upwardly directed and overcomes an elastic resistance.

These known heel holders are particularly popular with so-called Sunday skiers because the automatic locking of the sole holder of the device in response to the insertion of the skiing boot and the fact that the heel holder can be arbitrarily released, e.g., with the aid of the ski stick, permit of an application and release of the skis without need for a stooping down of the skier and his activity in a stooped-down position.

The known heel holders which have just been described are intended to be secured directly to the ski and enable only so-called downhill runs, in which the heel is to be held to the ski as firmly as possible under normal conditions.

Although present-day means of transportation have generally eliminated the need for climbing on skis, and skiers are particularly interested in downhill runs, skiing is still being practiced on fiat ground. For such cross-country skiing itis necessary to provide heel holders which enable a lifting of the heel from the ski.

Those skiers which are interested in both downhill and cross-country skiing and particularly those of them which may be described as Sunday skiers are not all in a position or prepared to procure a special pair of skis for each of these two kinds of skiing. In order to enable these skiers to use for both kinds of skiing a single pair of skis with safety ski bindings having heel holders of the type described first hereinbefore, it has been suggested to mount each "ice heel holder on the free end of a separate carrier plate, which is pivoted to the ski at one end of the plate whereas the free end of the plate is adapted to be locked to the ski for a downhill run.

This design has not found practical acceptance. It pro vides only an emergency solution to the problem and involves numerous disadvantages. For instance, the entire heel holder must be lifted in every step during cross-country skiing. It is an object of the invention to provide a practical, simple heel holder, which is suitable for downhill and cross-country skiing, not susceptible to trouble and insensitive to the weather and can be manufactured in a simple manner and at low cost.

In a heel holder for safety ski bindings, which heel holder comprises a pivoted sole holder provided with a closing pedal and upon the insertion of the skiing boot into the binding automatically assumes its locking position in which the heel holder automatically urges the boot in the longitudinal direction of the ski against the toe iron whereas said heel holder can be released arbitrarily, e.g., by an application of a slight pressure with the ski stick, or automatically in response to the application of an excessive tensile force, which may be vertically upwardly directed and overcomes an elastic resistance, the object set forth hereinbefore is accomplished according to the invention in that a pivoted carrying member for the sole holder and closing pedal consists of a spreading spring, which at that end which does not carry the sole holder is pivoted to a heel holder member which is connected to the ski, said heel holder member has a carrying member for a locking pawl, which pawl-carrying member is adapted to be selectively locked in one of at least two positions, and the locking pawl bears resiliently on a keeper, which is secured to that limb of the spring which does not carry the sole holder. Depending on the desired kind of skiing, downhill or cross-country, the pawl-carrying member is located in one position or the other.

A known heel holder can be used under certain conditions both for cross-country and downhill skiing. That known heel holder has a pressure member, which is pivotally movable in a vertical longitudinal plane and bears on a fixture which is provided on the heel of the skiing boot. Said pressure member opposes a lifting of the heel from the ski. The force which is applied by the pressure member and which must be overcome is adjustable with a view to the desired kind of skiing. For this adjustment, a spring element which acts on the pressure member may selectively engage the same at a short lever arm or a long one.

That known heel holder cannot, however, apply pressure to the skiing boot to urge the same against the toe iron whereas such pressure against the toe iron is required with most toe irons which are on the market. Further disadvantages of said known heel holder reside in the need for a special fixture on the skiing boot and the lack of a guidance for the skiing boot. The sole holder of the heel holder according to the invention provides for such guidance.

In the heel holder according to the invention the spreading spring is designed and arranged so that an additional force is to be overcome when the heel of the boot is to be lifted while the skier is walking on his skis so that such Walking is facilitated and fatigue of the skier is avoided. Nevertheless, the spreading spring urges the boot against the toe iron when the heel is lifted.

In a special embodiment of the invention, the spreading spring may have the shape of a hairpin or be bent like a safety pin. In the latter case, the spreading spring may be formed with a plurality of loops in its intermediate portion.

Particularly from the design aspect it has been found desirable to provide a spreading spring in the form of 3 a safety pin with two loops, which are spaced apart and connected by a cross-piece of the spring.

To facilitate the insertion of the skiing boot into the binding, the sole holder is mounted on the free end of the limb of the spring for pivotal movement against spring force. As a result, the sole holder will tend to assume a position in which it is ready to receive the boot and in which the gap formed between the sole holder and the closing pedal and serving to receive the edge of the sole is upwardly inclined.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a central longitudinal sectional view showing the heel holder according to the invention in condition for downhill skiing,

FIG. 2 a top plan View showing the heel holder of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 a side elevation showing the same heel holder in condition for cross-country skiing with the heel of the boot lifted from the ski, and

FIG. 4 a sectional view showing the sole holder and the closing pedal in the same position as in FIG. 3.

A baseplate 1 of the heel holder according to the invention is screwed to the ski 2 by means which are not shown. For this purpose, the baseplate is provided with screw holes 3 (FIG. 2). A heel holder member 4 is secured to the baseplate 1 and adjustable in the longitudinal direction of the ski. The member 4 has two parallel slots 5, which extend in the longitudinal direction of the ski and are adapted to receive the setscrews 6, which are screwed into the baseplate. A knurled screw 7 serves for adjusting the member 4 in the longitudinal direction of the ski when the setscrews 6 have been loosened. The knurled screw 7 is threaded into a tapped hole of an upwardly angled extension 8 of the baseplate 1. The free end of the shank of the knurled screw 7 is rotatably mounted in an upwardly angled extension 9 of the member 4 and held against axial displacement. The member 4 has two lateral cheeks 10, which extend in the longitudinal direction of the ski and in which a housing 11 disposed between said checks is mounted by two pivot pins 12 and a locating pin 13, which extends through the housing. A pin 14 is mounted in the housing 11 and extends parallel to the pivot pins 12. A locking pawl 15 is pivoted on the pin 14 and is biased by a compression spring 16. That end of the spring 16 which is remote from the locking pawl bears on the bottom of the housing 11.

The pivoted carrying element for the sole holder 17 and the closing pedal 18, which is connected to said sole holder, are carried by a spreading spring 19, which is bent like a safety pin. In the embodiment shown by Way of example, the spreading spring has two spacedapart loops (see FIG. 2), which are connected by a cross-piece 20 at the free end of their spring limbs 21 of the spring, which carry the sole holder and the closing pedal. The other limb 22 of each loop is pivoted to the corresponding cheek 10 of the member 4. To this end, the pivot pins 12 extend outwardly through the cheeks 10 and are embraced by bearing eyes 23, which are formed by the free ends of the spring limbs 22. To hold the eyes against axial displacement, the pivot pins are provided at their free end with a collar (see FIG. 3). The spring limbs 21 that are connected by the cross-piece 20 are curled to form eyes 24 (see particularly FIGS. 1 and 4). The eyes receive a pivot pin 25, on which the closing pedal 18 is pivoted by two lugs 26. The sole holder 17 is fixed to the closing pedal by a screw 27. The sole holder is held against rotation by interengaging teeth, not shown, which are formed on the parts 17 and 18. The sole holder can be adjusted to soles of different thickness. To this end, it is formed with a slot 28 for the screw 27 A relatively weak tension spring 29 is held in an annular groove formed in the crosssole holder 17 and holds the sole holder in engagement 4 with the spring limb 21 when the skiing boot is not inserted (see particularly FIG. 4). One end of the tension spring 29 is held in an annular groove formed in the crosspiece 20. The other end of the tension spring is hung into a hole which is formed in the sole holder.

A cross-beam 31 is secured to the two spring limbs 22 of the spreading spring 19 and may consist, e.g., of two parts, which are riveted together. A knurled screw 32 is threaded into a tapped hole, which is formed in the crossbeam at the center thereof and parallel to the spring limbs. A keeper 33 is mounted on the spring limbs 22 below the cross-beam and is slidable in the longitudinal direction of the limbs. The keeper 33 cooperates with the locking surface of the locking pawl 15 (see FIGS. 1 and 3). The keeper may consist of two parts, that are riveted together, and has a central hole, which extends in the direction in which the keeper is slidable. The free end of the knurled screw 32 is rotatably mounted in said hole and held against axial displacement. The keeper 33 is thus adjustable in the longitudinal direction of the spring limbs 22 by means of the knurled screw. Beyond its locking nose, the locking pawl 15 has an extension in the form of an unlocking arm 34, which has at its free end a recess 35, e.g., in the form of a shallow concave depression.

The housing 11 is adapted to be locked between the cheeks 10 in two different positions. These two positions are shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, respectively. The side walls of the housing 11 have two holes for the locating pin 13. When the locating pin 13 has been pulled out, e.g., against the action of a resilient detent or the like, the housing 11 can be pivotally moved about the pivot pins 12 to its other position, in which it is held when the locating pin 13 has been replaced. For downhill skiing, the housing must assume the position shown in FIG. 1 and for cross-country skiing the position shown in FIG. 3.

As has been mentioned, FIG. 1 shows the heel holder in condition for downhill skiing. The rear end of the skiing boot is indicated in dash-and-dot lines. During the insertion of the skiing boot into the safety binding, the spreading spring 19 has been stressed so that the sole holder 17 urges the boot against the toe iron (not shown) of the binding in the longitudinal direction of the ski. The pressure applied to the toe iron can be varied by a corresponding adjustment of the member 4 of the heel holder on the baseplate 1. The locking pawl is held in locking position by the compression spring 16. A tensile force acting on the sole holder 17 approximately in a vertically upward direction will tend to effect a pivotal movement of the spreading spring 19 about the pivot pins 12 in a clockwise sense in FIG. 1. As long as the force does not reach a critical value, the locking nose of the locking pawl engaging the keeper 33 will prevent a pivotal movement of the spreading spring about the pivot pins 12. If the sole holder 17 engages an excessive, upwardly directed tensile force, the keeper 33 will depress the locking pawl 15 against the force of the compression spring 16 and will move outwardly along the locking nose and finally clear the same. The spreading spring 19 can now easily perform an outward pivotal movement through an angle which is sufficient for a release of the skiing boot. For an arbitrary opening of the heel holder from its locked position, the locking pawl 15 is swung down against the force of the spring 16, e.g., with the aid of a ski stick, the tip of which is inserted into the recess 35. This movement is continued until the locking nose releases the keeper 33. The knurled screw 32 can be turned to adjust the keeper 33 in height so as to vary the resistance which must be overcome for an automatic release in the case of a fall.

For cross-country skiing, the housing 11 can be located in its other position, shown in FIG. 3. The various points where forces are applied may be changed by the skier to enable a sufiicient lifting of the heel from the ski without need for a great effort.

It is an important feature of the invention that the skiing boot is urged against the toe iron by pressure applied by the spreading spring constantly also during cross-country skiing, even when the heel of the boot is lifted from the ski.

What is claimed is:

1. In a heel-holding device for safety ski bindings which has a swingable sole holder with closure pedal and upon introduction of the ski boot into the binding automatically assumes its locking position and thereby presses the shoe in the longitudinal direction of the ski against the toe iron and which can be opened when desired, for instance, by a slight pressure with the ski pole or automatically upon the occurrence of an excessive tensile force directed approximately vertically upward, by overcoming an elastic resistance, the improvement comprising the provision of a heel-holding device suitable for both downhill and crosscountry skiing including an expanding spring 19 developed at least approximately in U shape, with one end support ing the-swingable sole holder and the other end swingably mounted on the ski 2; a locking pawl 15; means selectively supporting said locking pawl in a downhill position and in a cross-country position for locking said expanding spring, said locking pawl in said cross-country position allowing for greater heel lifts with smaller effort; and means resiliently biasing said locking pawl so that said expanding spring can be unlocked by a predetermined movement of said locking pawl against the force of said means resiliently biasing same.

2. In a heel holding device according to claim 1, the further improvement of the U portion of the expanding spring 19 being formed by at least one loop.

3. In a heel holding device according to claim 2, the

further improvement of the expanding spring 19 being comprised of two spring elements which are arranged spaced apart from each other and are connected with each other.

4. In a heel holding device according to claim 1, the further improvement of a spring connected between the sole holder 17 and said one end of the expanding spring.

5. In a heel holding device according to claim 1, the further improvement of eyes 23, 24 being formed on the ends of the expanding spring 19.

6. In a heel holding device according to claim 1, the further improvement of a supporting piece 11 pivotally mounted on the ski and pivotally supporting the locking pawl 15, and means to lock said supporting piece in one of two pivotally spaced apart positions.

7. In a heel holding device according to claim 6, the improvement of said means to lock the supporting piece 11 comprising two bores parallel to its pivotal axis defined by the supporting piece and a locking pin 13 to be received selectively in one of said two bores.

8. In a heel holding device according to claim 6, the improvement of the pivotal axes of the locking pawl 15 and the supporting piece 11 being parallel.

References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS 7/1952 Austria. 12/1965 France. 

